Mark Bassett

by J. Joan Bassett When you hear the word “museum,” what sort of mental picture do you see? If you’re like most people, you probably see a formal looking building, filled with old dusty things, maybe old pictures, books, and stuffed animals. Sometimes a museum isn’t quite what you expect to see. Some museums can […]

One of biggest challenges facing the Nevada Northern Railway museum is making the museum relevant to today’s society. For a variety of reasons, railroading has gone underground and is slipping out of the public awareness. Oh sure, railroading gets headlines when there is a derailment, but this is not the type of publicity that will

We’re gearing up. Opening Day is a week away and there are hundreds if not thousands of tasks that need to be done in the next week. And our Opening Weekend is also White Pine Weekend. The museum is offering adult residents of White Pine County half price tickets that weekend and better yet, kids

When I was growing up, I use to sing the song I’ve Been Working on the Railroad. If you have a little gray on your head, you probably remember how it goes. I’ve been workin’ on the railroad,All the livelong day.I’ve been workin’ on the railroad,Just to pass the time away . . . Little did

by Natasha Bettis, Buildings and Grounds Manager As we accomplish more here at the Nevada Northern one thing becomes clear; we need more space. More space to work on locomotives and cars, more space to safely and securely store assets, the list goes on. Some of you may be aware of the recent work on

For the past eight years, the Nevada Northern Railway Museum has hosted a winter photo shoot that we call the Winter Steam Spectacular. Photographers from around the world come to Ely to photograph the railroad in the winter. Why? It is a chance to experience railroading as it was a century ago. Here on the

If you think you were born one hundred years too late to witness the glory of steam railroading, then I have good news for you: you weren’t. There still exists a place where time stopped. Steam locomotives still rule the rails here. Passenger trains are still made up with cars whose origins date back as

There is this myth floating around that the museum has an “off” season; nothing could be further from the truth. Various projects are under way year round, not all of them are directly tied to railroading, but they are all tied to museum development. The big push right now is for toilets. Yes, that’s right

The day started very early in the morning, as do most days around the museum. This was going to be a busy day for us as there were four Polar Express® trains on the schedule. In addition to the Polar Express®, work would continue on the multitude of projects and tasks required to keep the

Our railroad heritage is facing a very serious threat: it is disappearing, leaving nothing for the future. The skills and the know-how to keep the steamers steaming are in danger of becoming extinct. If we do not address the problem now, we will lose that heritage forever. Here at the museum, we are working hard